Optical Sensor with Integrated Pinhole

ABSTRACT

An optical sensor includes a semiconductor substrate having a first conductive type. The optical sensor further includes a photodiode disposed on the semiconductor substrate and a metal layer. The photodiode includes a first semiconductor layer having the first conductive type and a second semiconductor layer, formed on the first semiconductor layer, including a plurality of cathodes having a second conductive type. The first semiconductor layer is configured to collect photocurrent upon reception of incident light. The cathodes are configured to be electrically connected to the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer is configured to, based on the collected photocurrent, to track the incident light. The metal layer further includes a pinhole configured to collimate the incident light, and the plurality of cathodes form a rotational symmetry of order n with respect to an axis of the pinhole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This continuation application claims priority to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/157,891, filed Jan. 17, 2014, which application claims thebenefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/754,348,filed Jan. 18, 2013, both of which applications are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

A pinhole is widely used as a component to direct or collimate incidentlight in an optical system. In the semiconductor industry, to fabricatea high-speed, high-efficiency optical sensor by complementary metaloxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible technologies has drawn muchresearch effort. However, to integrate the pinhole in the optical sensorgenerally requires an additional fabrication step, frequentlynon-CMOS-compatible, or/and an additional component to reach an optimalperformance of the optical sensor.

SUMMARY

Systems and a method to integrate a pinhole with a photodiode in anoptical sensor are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, an optical sensorincludes a semiconductor substrate, a photodiode formed on thesemiconductor substrate, and a metal layer formed over the photodiodeopposite the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate has afirst conductive type. The photodiode further includes an epitaxialsemiconductor layer having the first conductive type, and a plurality ofcathodes, formed on the epitaxial semiconductor layer, having a secondconductive type opposite from the first conductive type. The epitaxialsemiconductor layer is configured to generate current responsive toreception of incident light. The cathodes are configured to makeelectrical connections to the epitaxial semiconductor layer and, basedon the generated current, to track the incident light. Further, themetal layer includes a pinhole which is configured to collimate theincident light. Still further, the plurality of cathodes form arotational symmetry of order n with respect to an axis of the pinhole.

In another embodiment, an optical sensor includes a semiconductorsubstrate having a first conductive type, a photodiode disposed on thesemiconductor substrate, and a metal layer. The photodiode furtherincludes a first semiconductor layer having the first conductive typeand a second semiconductor layer. The first semiconductor layer isconfigured to collect photocurrent upon reception of incident light. Thesecond semiconductor layer includes a plurality of cathodes having asecond conductive type, and the second semiconductor layer is formed onthe first semiconductor layer. The cathodes are configured to beelectrically connected to the first semiconductor layer and based on thecollected photocurrent, the cathodes are configured to track theincident light. Further, the metal layer is formed on the secondsemiconductor layer and the metal layer includes a shadow maskconfigured to collimate the incident light. Still further, the pluralityof cathodes are n-fold rotationally symmetric based on an axis of theshadow mask.

In accordance with a further embodiment, a method to form asemiconductor device is disclosed. The method includes forming anepitaxial semiconductor layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming aplurality of cathodes on the epitaxial semiconductor layer, and forminga metal layer over the plurality of cathodes opposite the semiconductorsubstrate. The epitaxial semiconductor layer has a first conductivetype, while the plurality of the cathodes have a second conductivitytype. Further, the plurality of the cathodes are formed byion-implanting dopants. In a preferred embodiment, the metal layerincluding a pinhole is formed by a semiconductor process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an optical sensor with anintegrated pinhole in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 shows a one-dimensional model of how photocurrent is generated inan optical sensor in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 3 shows a top-view diagram of an exemplary optical sensor inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows a top-view diagram of an alternate optical sensor inaccordance with some embodiments; and

FIG. 5 shows a method to fabricate an optical sensor with an integratedpinhole in accordance with some embodiments.

NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE

Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claimsto refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art willappreciate, companies may refer to a component by different names. Thisdocument does not intend to distinguish between components that differin name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims,the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-endedfashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but notlimited to . . . ” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended tomean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Thus, if afirst device couples to a second device, that connection may be througha direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electricalconnection via other devices and connections.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following discussion is directed to various embodiments of theinvention. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred,the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used,as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. Inaddition, one skilled in the art will understand that the followingdescription has broad application, and the discussion of any embodimentis meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended tointimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, islimited to that embodiment.

A photodiode used in an optical sensor to precisely recognize patternsof motion has gained its importance in a variety of product types,including cell phones, entertainment consoles, medical and militaryinstruments. For example, a video game console may use the opticalsensor to provide the video game console functionalities of motioncapture, gesture recognition and facial recognition. In a preferredembodiment, an optical sensor may be an image sensor.

In a typical optical sensor, a segmented photodiode, includingcontinuous-type and split-cell type photodiodes, is widely used to trackmotion of an object, but the segmented usually requires an additionalfocused light source to be installed on the object. Further, theadditional light source needs to be precisely aligned with an activeregion of the segmented photodiode, which increases complexity offabrication, and in turn, potentially increases the cost.

Thus, it may be desirable to have an optical sensor comprising aphotodiode which is capable of detecting a bright object such as alow-cost light emitting diode (LED), and at the same time, requires noadditional light source. Embodiments of the present invention provide astructure and a method for an optical sensor wherein the optical sensorincludes a photodiode with an integrated pinhole fabricated by fullycomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible processes. Thedisclosed present structure and method implement a high-sensitivity,high-speed optical sensor. By “high-sensitivity” it is meant an opticalsensor exhibits a high sensitivity to an incident angle. By “high-speed”it is meant that an optical sensor exhibits a short response time.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary optical sensor100 including a photodiode 120 with an integrated pinhole 102 inaccordance with preferred embodiments. The optical sensor 100 is formedon an initial substrate 114 including, for example, a p-typesemiconductor material. In a preferred embodiment, the semiconductormaterial for the initial substrate 114 may be single-crystal Si, but thematerial may include other type of materials, such as Ge, SiGe, GaAs,InAs, SiGeC, GaN, or SiC. The photodiode 120 formed on the substrate 114includes an epitaxial semiconductor layer 112, a plurality of cathodes106, guard rings 108, and anodes 110. The epitaxial layer 112 may be ap-type epitaxial Si layer. The cathodes 106 may be formed of n-type Si,and the anodes 110 may be formed of p-type Si. More specifically, thecathodes 106 are electrically connected not only to the epitaxial layer112 but also to a plurality of electrodes 130. The electrodes areconfigured to collect current from the cathodes 106. Further, theoptical sensor 100 includes a top layer 104 with a pinhole 102 formedtherein. In some embodiments, the top layer 104 is formed of metal.Candidate materials for the top layer include, but are not limited to,Al, Cu, Ti, TiN, Pt, W, Ta, TaN, Indium tin oxide (ITO) and combinationsor alloys thereof. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the toplayer 104 may be lifted, by a layer 109 with a distance d, over thelayer 116 comprising the plurality of cathodes 106, or may be inconjunction with (not shown) the layer 116 comprising the cathodes 106.The distance d may range from several nanometers to micrometers. In somepreferred embodiments, the layer 109 may be formed of silicon dioxide.

Still referring to FIG. 1, to operate the optical sensor 100, incidentlight 101 passes through the pinhole 102 to cause a photo-response onthe photodiode 120. In some preferred embodiments, the pinhole 102 maybe configured to collimate the incident light 101 for purposes ofcausing the incident light 101 to be aligned in a preferred direction.The incident light 101 may be generated by an object to be tracked bythe optical sensor 100 or sunlight if the optical sensor 100 is used asa solar position tracker. After the collimated incident light 101illuminates the photodiode 120, electron-hole pairs, also referred to asphoto-generated electrons and photo-generated holes, are generated inthe epitaxial layer 112. The electrons generated in the p-type epitaxiallayer 112 are minority carriers. The generated electrons may diffuse tothe cathodes 106 and be collected by a detection circuit (not shown) asphotocurrent via the electrodes 130, or alternatively recombine with themajority carriers, holes, in the p-type epitaxial layer 112. Optionally,the guard ring 108 may advantageously limit collection of minoritycarriers outside the photodiode 120. In order to have a high collectionefficiency of the generated electrons, so as to have a high-performancephotodiode, a suitable design of the cathodes and the integrated pinholemay be desirable.

By using the disclosed structure and method, the optical sensor 100 mayadvantageously provide a more feasible way, or a more CMOS-compatibleway, to integrate a photodiode with a pinhole assembly. Optical sensorsin the prior arts may generally need additional components or lightsource to enable precise operations of the optical sensors. Withoutadditional components mounted or installed on an object to be tracked bythe optical sensor, the present embodiment may advantageously provide ahigh-sensitivity, high-speed optical sensor by tuning designablegeometric parameters. Details will be explained below.

FIG. 2 shows a one-dimensional physical model of how the photocurrent isgenerated within the epitaxial layer 112 and collected by the cathodes(e.g., 103 and 105) in the preferred photodiode 120. By“one-dimensional” it is meant that a profile is only extended in onedirection. As shown in FIG. 2, the direction refers to as x-axis. Insome embodiments, the one-dimensional physical model may be applicablein a two-dimensional (e.g., x-axis and y-axis) or a three-dimensionalphysical model (e.g., x-axis, y-axis and z-axis).

Still referring to FIG. 2, the incident light 101 illuminates throughthe pinhole 102 having intensity ll, with an incident angle θ. Theincident angle, as shown in FIG. 2, is an angle formed by the incidentlight and an axis normal to the pinhole 102. The photo-generatedelectrons in the epitaxial layer 112 have a distribution profile of theelectron density, n(x), over x-axis. r and l are defined by andcorrespond to the width of the incident light. For example, in thisone-dimensional model, the incident light 101 has a width as shown inFIG. 2; x=r occurs in which the most right of the incident light 101meets the x-axis, and x=l occurs in which the most left of the incidentlight 101 meets the x-axis. a is determined by the geometry of thecathodes (e.g., 103 and 105). In this case, if the cathode 103 locatesat x=a, and the cathode 105 locates at x=−a, a is determined. Further,x=0 occurs at the midpoint between x=a and x=−a. Based on the principleof continuation, the electron density goes to zero when x equals a or−a, which means that the electrons are collected and diffused via thecathodes 103 and 105.

Based on the diffusion equation in semiconductors, a total currentdensity or photocurrent density, J_(total), and a signal currentdensity, J_(signal), are derived as,

J _(total) =eII(2w)

J _(signal) =J _(total)(δ/a)

where e is the elementary electron charge, and δ and w are mathematicalvariables (determined by r, θ and l). To be more specifically, as shownin FIG. 2, a current density, J_(left), is collected by the cathode 105and a current density, J_(right), is collected by the cathode 103. Thetotal current density is, J_(total)=J_(left)+J_(right). The signalcurrent density may be, J_(signal)=J_(left)−J_(right), depending on asurface normal vector being used while measuring. In a preferredembodiment, the signal current density may be a different mix of all thecurrent density components (e.g., J_(left) and J_(right)) collected byeach of the cathodes (e.g., 103 and 105). Noticeably, the ration betweenthe total current density and the signal current density depends only ongeometrical parameters (e.g., a and δ) and is independent oftemperature.

According to the derived equations, a response time of the photocurrentgenerated by the optical sensor 200 is calculated as,

$\tau = {\left( \frac{a^{2}}{2D} \right)\left( {1 - \left( \frac{\delta}{a} \right)^{2} - {\frac{1}{3}\left( \frac{w}{a} \right)^{2}}} \right)^{2}}$

where D is the diffusion coefficient, and δ and w are mathematicalvariables determined by r and l. The response time is a key metric tomeasure how efficient of a photodiode's bandwidth for signal modulation.As shown in the equation, the response time strongly depends on theparameter a, which is determined by the geometry of the cathodes. Morespecifically, an optical sensor with a desired response time isachievable through optimally tuning geometry parameters, a, r and l. Forexample, if a cell phone using the disclosed optical sensor 200 needs aresponse time within a specific range, a manufacturer of the cell phonemay only need to optimally design the geometry and choose thecorresponding parameters which are readily available in CMOS-compatibleprocesses.

An incident angle (e.g., θ) sensitivity is also analyzed based on thesame model. The sensitivity of the incident angle is defined as howsensitive the generated photocurrent responds to the incident angle.With a high-sensitivity of the incident angle, an optical sensor may beused more precisely to track an object. As mentioned, by using the samemodel, the angle sensitivity is only determined by the geometricparameters of the optical sensor and the intensity of the incidentlight, which enables the optical sensor to be designed and implementedin a more feasible way in accordance with the usage of the opticalsensor. Details of the fabrication steps will be illustrated below.

FIG. 3 shows a top-view diagram of an exemplary optical sensor 300. Theoptical sensor 300 includes a top metal layer 306 having a pinhole 302and four cathodes (e.g., 304) beneath the metal layer 306. The pinhole302 of the example of FIG. 3 includes a first pair of extensions 302 aand a second pair of extensions 302 b. The first and second pairs ofextensions are orthogonal to each other, even though the two pairs maybe formed non-orthogonally in other embodiments. Further, although thegeometrical configuration in FIG. 3 shows that the pinhole 302 has twopairs of extensions 302 a and 302 b and two cathodes (e.g., 304) onopposite sides of each pair of extensions, the optical sensor 300 mayhave any suitable geometrical configurations. For example, the pinhole302 may take the shape of a stripe, a plus sign, a circle, a triangle,or a rectangle. The cathodes 304 may also include an array of dots,triangles, stripes or rectangles. Further, the cathodes 304 may be anarray of one-dimensional configurations, two-dimensional configurations,or three-dimensional configurations.

In a preferred implementation, the cathodes (e.g., 304) may form ann-fold rotational symmetry with respect to a particular point or an axisof the pinhole (e.g., 307 and 309), wherein n is an integer. As such, byrotating an angle of 360°/n (e.g., 180°, 120°, 90°, or 60°) with respectto an axis, the plurality of cathodes (e.g., 304) will not be changed.For example, referring to FIG. 3, each of the extensions of the pinhole302 includes an axis, 307 and 309. The cathodes 304 at upper right andlower right are 2-fold (i.e., n=2) rotationally symmetric to the axis307, which means that by rotating the upper right cathode 304 and thelower right cathode 304 with respect to the axis 307 360°/2, theconfiguration of these two cathodes 304 is not changed. Similarly, theupper right and the upper left cathodes 304 are 2-fold rotationallysymmetric with respect to the axis 309.

In some embodiments, each of the cathodes (e.g., 304) may be locatedwithin a distance 301, as shown in FIG. 3, from the pinhole 302. Thedistance is defined as a shortest distance measured literally from anypoint of each of the cathodes (e.g., 304) to the pinhole 302. Thedistance 301 may not be larger than the electron diffusion length. Byimplementing this design constraint, a likelihood of low collectionefficiency of the photo-generated electrons may be reduced. Moreparticularly, if the distance 301 is larger than the electron diffusionlength, the photo-generated electrons generated in the photodiode viaillumination under the pinhole 302 may travel over a longer distance,which in turn increases the possibility of recombination of thephoto-generated holes and photo-generated-electrons in the photodiodebefore the photo-generated electrons being collected by the cathodes304.

Although the optical sensor 300 shown in FIG. 3 includes only a pinhole302, an active photodiode (not shown) beneath the metal layer 306, andthe coupled cathodes 304, in a preferred embodiment, an optical sensormay include an array of a plurality of pinhole integrated sensors (e.g.,the optical sensor 300). For example, an optical sensor may include atwo-dimensional rectangular array with two optical sensors 300 in a rowand three optical sensors 300 in a column. A shape of the array may takeany suitable configuration in one-dimension or two-dimension. Each ofthe optical sensors in the array may be identical, partially identical,or different in terms of an alignment of a pinhole and cathodes.

In an alternate embodiment, an optical sensor with a configuration of aninverse pinhole may be suitable for some applications. FIG. 4 shows atop-view diagram of an exemplary optical sensor 400 having a shadow mask406. The shadow mask 406, preferably formed of metal, is an inversepinhole. For example, in FIG. 4, the configuration of the shadow mask406 causes a formation of four pinholes 402.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the optical sensor 400 includes the shadowmask 406, pinholes 402, and a plurality of cathodes 404. The shadow mask406 may be suspended over the layer comprising the plurality of cathodes404, and depending on a geometrical configuration of the shadow mask406, the shadow mask 406 may be connected with a plurality of supportingarms at ends of the extensions. For example, in FIG. 4, the shadow mask406 has two pairs of extensions, and each of the extensions ends at theonline of the optical sensor 400 by which the four supporting arms (notshown) connects the shadow mask 406. In a preferred embodiment,analogously to FIG. 3, the cathodes 404 may form an n-fold rotationalsymmetry with respect to an axis (e.g., 407 and 409) of the shadow mask406, where n is an integer.

Although the shadow mask 406 in FIG. 4 shows a geometric configurationof a plus shape, the shadow mask 406 may be in any suitable geometricconfigurations. For example, the shadow mask 406 may have a shape ofcircle, stipe, square or rectangle. Analogously, the plurality ofcathodes 404 may form an array of any suitable geometric configurationsas well, including but not limited to dots, rectangles, or stripes.

FIG. 5 shows a method 500 of fabricating the optical sensor of thepresent invention. The method 500 starts, at step 503, with growing anepitaxial semiconductor layer on a semiconductor substrate. Referring toFIG. 1, the semiconductor substrate 114 may have p-type conductivity,and the epitaxial layer 112 grown on the p-type semiconductor substrate114 may be p-type with a lower doping density compared to thesemiconductor substrate 114. In some preferred embodiments, a netaverage doping density of the substrate 114 within 100 microns of theepitaxial layer 112 is at least a factor of ten higher than a netaverage doping density of the epitaxial layer 112. For example, theepitaxial layer may be 2 microns to 30 microns thick.

While other processes to form the epitaxial layer are available, in apreferred embodiment, the epitaxial growth of the epitaxial layer 112may be implemented using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process,which forms a non-volatile solid film on a substrate from reactions ofsuitable chemical vapors.

Continuing the method 500 with step 504 and still referring to FIG. 1,at step 504, the plurality of cathodes 106 with n-type conductivity,anodes 110 with p-type conductivity, and guard rings 108 are defined andformed in a layer over the grown epitaxial layer by ion-implantation. Ina preferred embodiment, the n-type cathodes 106 are formed first vian-type implantation, followed by the formation of p-type anodes 110 viap-type implantation, however the order of the formations could bereversed. The geometrical configurations of the cathodes 106 and theanodes 110 are formed by ion implantation using a photoresist or implantmask or dielectric mask (e.g., silicon dioxide). After implantation ofthe respective species, the substrate 114 including the cathodes 106 andthe anodes 110 may be annealed in order to activate the implants. Theannealing may include heating the substrate 114, for example, at 1200°C. for 80 minutes or equivalent conditions, for example, 1225° C. for 50minutes, 1175° C. for 130 minutes or using rapid thermal processor (RTP)to anneal at 1000° C. for 15 seconds. For the n-type implantation, thepreferred dopants to be used are As, P, or Sb, while for the p-typeimplantation, the preferred dopant is B.

The method 500 continues with step 506 to form the top metal layer 104comprising the pinhole 102 as shown in FIG. 1. The top layer 104 isformed using a CMOS-compatible process; the process includes: depositingmetal, defining a pattern of a pinhole. The depositing may beimplemented by a number of means, including, but not limited toevaporation, sputtering, or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Thedefining of the patterns of the pinholes can also be implemented by anumber of techniques such as lift-off, deposition and etching orchem-mechanical polishing.

The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles andvarious embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations andmodifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once theabove disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the followingclaims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. An optical sensor, comprising: a semiconductorsubstrate having a first conductive type; a photodiode formed on thesemiconductor substrate, the photodiode comprising: an epitaxialsemiconductor layer having the first conductive type, wherein theepitaxial semiconductor layer is configured to generate currentresponsive to reception of incident light; and a plurality of cathodeshaving a second conductivity type opposite from the first conductivetype and being formed on the epitaxial semiconductor layer, the cathodesof the second conductivity type extending to a surface of the epitaxialsemiconductor layer, the cathodes configured to make electricalconnections to the epitaxial semiconductor layer and, based on thegenerated current, to track the incident light, the optical sensorfurther comprising: a metal layer formed over the photodiode oppositethe semiconductor substrate and comprising a pinhole, wherein theincident light only impinges an anode of the photodiode.
 2. The opticalsensor of claim 1, wherein the metal layer is fabricated using anintegrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. 3.The optical sensor of claim 1, wherein the first conductive type isp-type and the second conductive type is n-type.
 4. The optical sensorof claim 1, wherein a distance between each of the plurality of cathodesand the pinhole is not greater than an electron diffusion length.
 5. Theoptical sensor of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor comprises an arrayof a pinhole integrated sensor, wherein each of the pinhole integratedsensor comprises a plurality of cathodes and a pinhole integrated withthe pinhole integrated sensor.
 6. The optical sensor of claim 1, whereinthe pinhole has a shape of one of a stripe, a plus sign, a circle, atriangle, a rectangle.
 7. The optical sensor of claim 1, wherein theplurality of cathodes form an array of dots, triangles, stripes,rectangles.
 8. The optical sensor of claim 1, wherein the generatedcurrent is based on an angle formed by the incident light and thesemiconductor substrate.
 9. An optical sensor, comprising: asemiconductor substrate having a first conductive type; a photodiodedisposed on the semiconductor substrate, comprising: a firstsemiconductor layer having the first conductive type, wherein the firstsemiconductor layer is configured to collect photocurrent upon receptionof incident light; and a second semiconductor layer comprising aplurality of cathodes having a second conductive type and formed on thefirst semiconductor layer, the cathodes of the second conductivity typeextending to a surface of the second semiconductor layer, the cathodesconfigured to be electrically connected to the first semiconductor layerand, based on the collected photocurrent, to track the incident light,the optical sensor further comprising: a metal layer formed on thesecond semiconductor layer and comprising a shadow mask configured toallow the incident light to strike the first semiconductor layer;wherein the incident light only impinges an anode of the photodiode. 10.The optical sensor of claim 9, wherein the metal layer is fabricatedusing a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process.
 11. Theoptical sensor of claim 9, wherein the first conductive type is p-typeand the second conductive type is n-type.
 12. The optical sensor ofclaim 9, wherein the optical sensor comprises an array of a shadow maskintegrated sensor, wherein each of the shadow mask integrated sensorcomprises a plurality of cathodes and a shadow mask integrated with theshadow mask integrated sensor.
 13. The optical sensor of claim 9,wherein the shadow mask has a shape of a stripe, a plus sign, a circle,a triangle, a rectangle.
 14. The optical sensor of claim 9, wherein theshadow mask is suspended over the second semiconductor layer and isconnected via the metal layer.
 15. The optical sensor of claim 9,wherein the plurality of cathodes are an array of one-dimensionalconfigurations, two-dimensional configurations, or three-dimensionalconfigurations.